December 1

In Theaters:

The Book Thief - This film is based on the book by the same name which I recently read.  It tells the story of the relationship of Liesel,  her foster parents and the Jew they are hiding against the backdrop of the horrors of Nazi Germany. Sophie Nelisse as Leisel is wonderful and Geoffrey Rush, Emily Watson, Ben Schnetzer and Nico Liersch give convincing performances.  As in any adaptation, parts had to be left out or not fully developed, but in general a good adaptation.  Although this was a "youth" book, I would not recommend it to teens as they would find it slow. 

  

On Netflix and Instant Streaming:

Starbuck - A Thanksgiving tradition in our family is that the day after Thanksgiving, the Shermans, Kamens and Rubins go to the movies.  This year the bulk of the group went to see The Hunger Games movie while three Rubins went to see Delivery Man.  I stayed home with Abby, Amanda and Paula, but I remembered that I had Starbuck on my list and it was streaming.  Starbuck is the French Canadian version of Delivery Man.  In fact it came out just a few months ago and when the review came out for Delivery Man they compared the two.  Although I didn't see the Vince Vaugh one, I did watch this one.  It is quite delightful. Starbuck does not refer to the coffee chain, but the name used by the main character when he donated sperm. You probably know the story, but it is about a sperm donor who finds out he has fathered over 500 children and goes about to meet a few of them.  I thought this would be a great TV series as he could visit a different child each week and stay on the air for many seasons! The actors were not familiar to me,but funny and touching.  My brother Jeff said he like the American version and as he related scenes to me, they were exactly the same in this version.  So if you want to save yourself at least $9, just see this one

The Little Theatre of Alexandria:

My Temple's Sisterhood planned a dinner theater party and chose the Little Theatre of Alexandria's production of The  39 Steps as the production to see.  It was not the Alfred Hitchock version, but a spoof (I believe) since I never saw the original movie. Having seen much community theater, this performance left a lot to be desired.  The theater is lovely, but the production from sets to the acting was in line with a high school production.  In fact, I've been HS production (Bill!) that were much better.  The evening was fun because we were with fun people.  One of the actors was very good, but the others so so.  Although tickets are inexpensive and it is good to support community theater, this one was not one I could recommend.

A note about the Worldgate theater in Herndon -   It has recently been acquired by AMC and with the acquisition, they renovated the theaters.  The nine Rubin/Sherman/Kamens who went could not say enough about the theater. We went to the theater to see The Book Thief and agree with them all.   The seats are recliners. Sy said all they needed was a waitress to take his order.  You can also reserve your seats in advance or do it when you purchase your tickets at the box office.  The only minus is that if the film is a bore, there is a good possibility you might fall asleep!

DWTS:

Well it is all over and there were no surprises.  Amber Riley of Glee won with Corbin Bleu coming in second and Jack Osbourne coming in a respectable third.  My complaint is that although Amber and Corbin are not ballroom dancers, they are familiar with production numbers and moving while Jack was a true novice.  Not until they change who they recruit to dance, this will always be a problem in my mind.  

Happy belated Thanksgiving to all and a Happy Chanukah to those continuing to celebrate the holiday this week.

Roberta